Asher Treleaven: Troubadour

The relationship between high-concept and great standup comedy is a pretty amorphous one. Most great Fringe shows have, at their root, some unifying theme, an idea that holds everything together. But can the conceit kill the comedy?

Asher Treleaven’s latest show is pegged onto a particularly convoluted concept: Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, a metaphysical problem solving technique in which each hat has a different meaning. Lost? Don’t worry, Treleaven devotes the first five minutes of his set to an explanation that is so long-winded and jargon-filled that, as he admits, his show "does feel like a comedy TED talk."

The six hats of different hues provide the framing device for an autobiographical hour. Treleaven wanders from his dysfunctional childhood to his newfound positive frame of mind, via various anecdotes and some impressive "sexy Diablo" learned at the clown college. 

Unfortunately, the hats are more hindrance than help, a thin conceit that is unable to hold together what is essentially a series of unrelated material. Which is a shame because Treleaven, a lanky, dapper Australian with wild eyes and a strong stage presence, knows his way around a gag. A routine about having an ultrasound for testicular cancer is sharp, wonderfully observed and devilishly funny. Treleaven can also think on his feet: for most comics, an audience of six punters and a baby (seriously) would be a daunting prospect, but instead he uses the almost empty room, and the infant in particular, as a prop.

Treleaven is a talented comic trapped by a duff concept. Time to get his thinking hat on.